Merry Christmas all

As the in-laws recede northward on I-95, I find myself starting to worry about next week. I still have until Tuesday before classes start again, but I can't help thinking about the fact that I haven't graded the tests I brought home, or figured out how to make the next two weeks of material exciting enough to whip the students out of their post-holiday, pre-midterm haze.

I am always looking for new ways to make the material more exciting for myself and my students. It is very demoralizing to come up with an idea to this end and find that it fails miserably. Among the multitude of gifts under the tree at the Wulf household this year was The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Kakalios has been trying to make physics more exciting for his students for a while now, and he thinks that comic book superheroes are a good way in. He notes in the introduction that such a fanciful example for the laws of physics is a great way to sidestep that horrible question, "When am I ever going to use this?" If this book is able to provide some ideas as I get deeper into it, I will recommend it to my fellow science educators. But even if it doesn't inspire me as an educator, I know I will recommend it for the fact that it is very funny and informative.

Okay, it's time to grade that AP test, I know. I will check back in with you all as soon as I can lower my stress levels enough to again feel like I am on vacation.

Hahahah, it's time to add in some photos that are needed for a game I play. Pay them no mind.